Four-Star Back Has "Great Experience"

Jason Caldwell

01/27/2013

Four-star running back and Vandy commit Johnathan Ford talks about his official visit to Auburn and where the Tigers stand.

New Hope, Ala.—Four-star running back Johnathan Ford has been committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores since last April, but over the weekend he took a trip to the Plains to check out Coach Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers.

Spending a great deal of time with both Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee as well as new running backs coach Tim Horton, Ford said the visit went very well.

"My visit went good," Ford says. "It was a great experience meeting Coach Malzahn and his staff, just meeting all the people and how they welcomed me in there. I met the players and hung out with Tre Mason and Quan Bray and all those guys. It just felt real good up there."

Looking for help at the running back position, Auburn has made Ford a much bigger priority since the new staff came on board in December. That's something that has made an impact on Ford and he says both Malzahn and Lashlee are great guys.

"It was real great," Ford says. "They talked about how they see me in the offense. They just laid everything out there for me. It was a great experience."

Having already visited Vanderbilt and Tennessee, Ford says that now he'll have a decision to make once he gets an opportunity to sit down with his family and weighs the pros and cons.

"Auburn is real good right now," Ford notes. "That's all I'm saying. I'm still committed to Vanderbilt right now, but I'm going to talk about the whole thing with my family."

A Class 3A all-state performer despite missing two games because of an ankle injury, Ford ran for 1,669 yards and scored 27 touchdowns as a senior. In 2011 he rushed for 1,526 yards and 23 touchdowns while adding 18 catches for 245 yards.